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The Rumjacks bring excitement to Tallahassee

Hidden within the depths of American culture underneath the prominent hip-hop and pop scenes is a genre of music influenced by over 300 years of Irish culture, history and heritage and combined with America’s punk music.

Hidden within the depths of American culture underneath the prominent hip-hop and pop scenes is a genre of music influenced by over 300 years of Irish culture, history and heritage and combined with America’s punk music.

Irish Punk music doesn’t just come from the motherland of Ireland. Just as Dropkick Murphys got their start in Boston and Flogging Molly got their start in Los Angeles, wherever the spirit of Irish music stretches can give birth to some of the most passionate, heartfelt and humorous songs in the genre. In that vein is the popular Celtic-punk band The Rumjacks, hailing all the way from Sydney, Australia, and their songs that take a book from many Irish and punk performers that preceded them.

The Rumjacks brought their ridiculously fun “drinking music” to The Side Bar on Thursday to an excited crowd of rabble-rousers and moshers. Their music is as good live and loud as it is on their studio albums. The night primarily featured songs from their recent album Sleepin’ Rough which brings the same high energy of their previous albums and translates very well in a live performance.

Another aspect of The Rumjacks that comes from many Irish songs stretching back to the 1800s is their ability to tell compelling, heartfelt, exhilarating and funny stories within many of their songs. From “Jolly Executioner” about a legendarily brutal medieval executioner, to “Uncle Tommy” about a crazy drunken uncle named Tommy, to their most famous song “Irish Pub Song” that deconstructs and mocks what you can find at every Irish Pub.

While the stories of their songs don’t come across as well in a live performance due to the inability to hear lyrics coherently in a loud bar and surrounded by many inebriated metal-heads, the sheer energy of these songs is still apparent. They can still make you want to try to dance and sing along with the man beside you who you just met. This is due to the heavy punk influences on each song that meshes incredibly well with the inclusion of traditional folk instruments such as the tin whistle, war drum and mandolin.

All in all, when it comes to Celtic Punk, The Rumjacks are among the best on the scene for all the reasons that Celtic music is so popular. Their lyrics all tell compelling stories, their instrumentals make you want to dance and their live personas make you want to grab a drink with whichever stranger wants to share some brotherly love with you. Hopefully they visit us again.